If you are reading this, I would guess that you are traveling across Iowa on Hwy 20, or even up…read moreI-35, and you're searching the Internet for fresh food, and this stretch of highway looks pretty bare for hometown restaurants...but, you are in luck! Just detour into Steamboat Rock (five minutes off Hwy 20), and find yourself in another world, possibly another century.
Mama's Family Diner is in the downstairs lunchroom of the local schoolhouse (formerly called the Schoolhouse Diner). You'll find yourself feeling like a very lucky grade school student, where the lunch ladies serve fresh made tortillas for your Mexican fare, and Iowa favorites for the nostalgic. The day we visited, the lunch specials were either burrito, enchilada, meatloaf and mashed potatoes with dessert, or goulash with dessert. There is also a Mexican menu of soft tacos (ground beef, chicken or steak) and quesadillas, etc. There are none of the tired old bar food menu items, the American fare is limited to the specials, and the Mexican food is geared toward Iowa palates, but this may change as the restaurant gains popularity.
Your food (plenty of it) is served on real restaurant china, by Mama herself. And the burrito was muy grande, as you can see from our picture.
Do yourself a favor, drop off the beaten path, and, when you step out of your car onto the quiet, peaceful street, bordered by old growth trees, and walk down the sidewalk into this renovated schoolhouse, you'll remember the good times when school lunch was the best part do the school day!
Three stars because the menu is very limited, but five for home town atmosphere...this is what Iowa small towns are really like, hence the four star average.
